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Cosmo Baker is a bit of an anomaly. He is a bonafide music nerd, with thousands and thousands of records in his collection, and a serious grip of music history in his head. While he can knowledgeably speak on original pressings, debunked disco producers, and the influence of the impeach the president drums on modern music; he will also step into the dj booth, confidently grab the Mic, cue a track, and whip a dance floor to a furry. The world spins, Girls swoon, DJ's jock, Cosmo shrugs, and buys more records. Is it something in the Philly water system? Find out that and more as Tucker & Bloom sifts through the knowledge.

-THE BAG MESSENGER 

THE BAG MESSENGER: How did you get into DJing? What brought you to this point in your life?

COSMO BAKER: I've always been collecting music, from cassettes and eventually on 12"s because there really wasn't any other way to get the stuff that I liked. The stuff that I used to listen to on WDAS Friday nights and Power 99 on Saturday nights, and with Cosmic Kev  and AJ Shine on 91.7 back in the day, back when it was REALLY poppin. I was always that guy. I used to make pause mixtapes in junior high, and highschool. My friends would say "oh yeah Cosmo has all the music", so Id make tapes for folks.  Eventually I just decided I'm gonna take this one step further in highschool and bought some turntables. I kind of took to it like a fish to water, and was doing house parties and basement parties when I was 17. I started spinning night clubs Revival, Silk City and wasn't legal. They just let me do my thing. So I was doing that for a while, and than I moved to New York for a few years to go to college right around when Guliani first came to office. I was doing well up here and the scene died. Guliani basically outlawed dancing. So I moved back to Philly to finnish up school and than did my thingin Philly Djing. Than I bounced to Brooklyn in 2003 and that's when everything just kind of sky rocketed. We ended up starting this party called "The Rub", and the rest is history.

THE BAG MESSENGER: What part of Philly are you from?

COSMO: Growing up I lived in the Northeast for a short time, and in Center City for a bit as well but I spent most of my formative years living in South Philly, so that's pretty much where I claim. And that's where my family is still.

Cosmo Baker using the North To South Messenger Bag at Plan B NYC.

THE BAG MESSENGER: I know you have a background in graffiti. How did you get into graff?

COSMO: Well I first really started noticing graffiti in like maybe 1981 because it was just ever-present growing up in the city. I basically lived just a couple blocks away from what would be considered Philly's "Wall Of Fame" and so I would see some of the greatest graff of the time every day going to school - Razz, Mr. Blint, Credit, Jay-Cee, Estro. It was actually Estro that inspired me to write, and I straight bit his famous "2001" piece and started writing "Astro" in about 1983. It was a fascination and I went through a bunch of name changes until the fascination became an obsession I actually decided to get serious about it in about 1989.

THE BAG MESSENGER:Who has the nicest philly hand?

COSMO: Philly has got the nicest hand styles in the world, bar none. And honestly even your middle-rung writers, if they're in tuned with Philly fundamentals, they have a certain flow. But you've got to have that "whip" and the dude that I always say by default is Kadism. Best writer ever in my opinion.

THE BAG MESSENGER: What is it about Philly that breeds DJ's?

COSMO: Philly has a lot of soul and it also has a grand music tradition. Philly is also the type of city that likes to hold on to it's traditions, for better of for worse. Philly was always nice on the DJ tip so that's been on of those sticking points that like if you really want to be respected you had to hold your own. Plus the crowds in Philly are notoriously tough. Like if they do not like you they will let you know. So if you're playing in front of a crowd you had to get really good, really fast, or else you would hear it.

THE BAG MESSENGER: What DJ's were you checking for in the city coming up?

COSMO: Okay of course there were all the DJs that you heard on all the records that you listened to, Jam Master Jay and all that. Then there was the local guys who were famous from being on record - Jazzy Jeff, Cash Money, Tat Money, Too Tuff - I was checking for all those dudes. Then the radio dudes like Philly's Spinbad who was on WDAS, Cosmic Kev on Drexel radio, and the one dude that I would check for the most was DJ Jeff Mills who was the dude who did the Power 99 "Live From After Midnight" broadcasts. I used to tape his mixes every week. Then the 2 DJs that kind of acted like mentors in a way and gave me my first break to do my thing - DJ Storm and King Britt - I checked for them dudes cause they were on some different shit.

THE BAG MESSENGER: What was Center City Jew Crew?

COSMO: Ah that's basically a bunch of Jewish kids that all knew each other via hanging out, going to the same schools or bar mitzvahs and whatnot. Me, DJ Mighty Mi, Jonathan Shecter who started The Source Magazine, Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein, there were a lot of kids, and it wasn't really a Jewish thing. It was just a bunch of kids running around Philly doing our thing. The schools that we all went to, the skateboard store, it all fits in... Good times, man. A bunch of us used to joke about "Man I'm gonna be a rapper one day" and it's crazy to think that a bunch of us have actually made careers out doing just that or things comparable.

COSMO: My mom has always supported me in all the decisions that I make. Considering how well I do I don't think anyone is complaining haha...

THE BAG MESSENGER: You have some pretty heavy crates. What are a few of your favorite finds?

COSMO: Man there's not really any one thing that is like "Oh that's my shit" because I think of my collection as the whole being more important that the individual pieces. That's why won't ever sell my collection. I mean I might get rid of pieces here and there, slim it down or refine it, but dead ass I been collecting since I was 15 and that shit is such in integral part of who I am 

THE BAG MESSENGER: How deep are you?

COSMO: At last count I was in the area of around 16,000 of like 12"s and LPS and like 3000+ on the 45 tip. So yeah, pretty healthy, not much bullshit in the collection either.

THE BAG MESSENGER: Any digging come up stories?

COSMO: I always love telling the story of Dans Pet Food Store which was this gutter-ass spot on 21st back in the day, and I used to walk by it all the time. One day dude had crates of records outside and I stopped and dude was like "Yeah, I figured since nobody is buying them I'm gonna get rid of these." Turns out dude had stacks of vinyl in the back and you would never know it. I walked in and it was a mess - kitty litter all over the place, the whole spot smelled like cat piss. Fucking terrible and it was almost impossible to be in there it smelled so bad. So I flicked through the stacks and what's one of the first things I pull? Gary Bartz Harlem Bush Music. So I was like "Oh, shit let me continue on..." I pulled mad shit out of there, Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive, like almost a complete Strata East discography. Crazy shit.

THE BAG MESSENGER: What does a regular day look like for Cosmo Baker?

COSMO: Wake up around 9, have some coffee, check my email. Take care of whatever projects I got to do right then and there, take a shower and head out, get lunch, run errands, come home, more email and work, hit the gym, have dinner with the wife, relax... I am the most regular dude you know when it comes to shit like that.

THE BAG MESSENGER: Favorite flavor of water Ice?

COSMO: You'll think I'm crazy, or that I'm not really from Philly, but I'm not a huge Water Ice fan. If it were a choice between cherry and lemon I would go for the lemon, but if you really want to fuck with the real shit you'll get the Capogio.

THE BAG MESSENGER: Best Cheese Steak?

COSMO: If I had to choose between Pats & Ginos, like if I was with a  tourist and we were drunk and it was 4 AM after the club and they wanted a cheese steak it would have to be Pats. BUT, if you're on some straight REAL SHIT it's tough. Up the Northeast there's Chinks which are crazy. There's Delessandro's in Roxborough and honestly I won't front on Campos on Market Street - their sandwiches are really good.

THE BAG MESSENGER: Favorite Cutty lunch spot?

COSMO: In Philly? For some reason the first thing I thought about was Koch's Deli up West Philly. Banging sammiches...

Check Cosmo Baker out Monthly at The Rub, Southpaw 125 5th Avenue Brooklyn, NY and March 5th at The Vault (Basement of Element 225 E. Houston St NY, NY) for The Sheen Bros monthly. You can also keep up with his blog here.

Keep digging for more music.Fit a laptop, records, and more. Get the North To South Messenger bag here. ...

Happy Monday everyone. We have results from the Leisure mix contest held last month, and we are going to leave the final selection up for public vote. Below is the taken info from Pipomixes. Enjoy!
-THE BAG MESSENGER




“Last month I posted about a Leisure Mixtape Contest hosted by yours truly and Tucker & Bloom. The contest rules were simple, send a 40 minute mix consisting of music that is either Brazilian, soul, or funk themed breaks. The winner receives a Tucker & Bloom record bag worth $250 and distribution with all Tucker & Bloom purchases. Now, we need all of your input. The top 3 mixes are posted below. We received dozens of excellent submissions, but the three mixes below were the cream of the crop according to a panel of judges consisting of Cosmo Baker, Case from Tucker & Bloom, and myself. Before you all roll your eyes about not getting a new mix to download today, you are actually getting 3 mixes today. Let me assure all of you that all three mixes are top quality and I guarantee satisfaction. Pipo doesn’t have time for amateur hour, these mixes are of the same level of all mixes posted on this blog.- Pipo

Please take the time to listen to all three mixes and vote for your favorite mix in either the comments box or email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (put contest in the subject line). For obvious reasons, anonymous comments will not count. Voting closes on Friday, February 26th at 11:59pm pst.




DJ Chill Wilson Mix



DJ Forty Fivan AKA DJ Ferrari Mix



DJ Hudson Mix
















Keep digging for more music.Fit a laptop, records, and more. Get the North To South Messenger bag here. ...

This is part two of a three part documentary on Dilla’s life in LA put together buy the guys at Stussy and Stones Throw.

Keep digging for more music.Fit a laptop, records, and more. Get the designer North To South Messenger bag here. Plus you can use coupon code (pa1101) at check out for 25% off any bag purchase at http://www.tucker-bloom.com ...because we know how it goes…save green backs for wax

Ten or twelve years ago when I worked for Hartmann Luggage Co., I had the opportunity to travel to South America to work with a small leather goods supplier.  One of the great pleasures of international travel is discovering new foods.  Though now, Chimichurri is more of a known condiment that when I was discovering it, I still find it a wonderful exotic addition to a eating palate.
Bon appetite!!
-David Bloom



Chimichurri Recipe


Here is my personal favorite recipe for chimichurri. You can mix it all together but I prefer to go through a 3-step process while preparing the sauce.

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar

1/4 Cup Water

1 small bunch flat leaf-parsley; chopped (should equal about 1/2 cup)

1 medium onion; finely chopped

4 cloves garlic; finely minced

1/2 of a red bell pepper; seeded and finely diced

1 tomato; peeled, seeded, finely chopped

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

1 Tablespoon paprika

1 Teaspoon bay leaf (laurel); very small flakes

1 Tablespoon coarse salt

1 Teaspoon ground black pepper
hot chili flakes to taste










Get the simple messenger bag here. The perfect bag for a day of running around with room for life’s large and small ingredients .